New Green Building Proposed for Research Farm

By Susan Kim, STAFF WRITER

The workers at the Central Maryland Research Farm have been dreaming in green of late. That's because a new 35,000-square-foot "green" building has been proposed for the farm, which is administered by the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
The facility, located on Homewood Road in Ellicott City, currently houses the Home and Garden Information Center as well as other research-related offices.
As the green building rises, the farm, as well as local and regional businesses, could see a 300-person conference facility, high tech laboratories exploring green technology, educational seminars and a site for "eco weddings."
Programs operating in the new building, in addition to the Home and Garden Information Center, will include a Bay-Wise Landscaping program, Maryland Master Gardener program, research labs for faculty and graduate students, and others.
Currently the green building is in a concept stage, but with a jumpstart of $250,000 in county funds, university leaders are hoping to go from concept to reality in the next three to five years, said Ria Malloy, business manager of the center.
Estimates show the total cost of the finished facility would be $12 to $15 million, which will be raised through a combination of government funds, grants and private donations.
The building concept, designed by the architectural firm ASG, features green technologies including reflective paving, solar chimneys, bio-filtration, a "living roof" and a silo wind generator.
When built, the facility will be ready for green technology upgrades, said Malloy. "We want to be able to continually improve the technology," she said.

It's Time for Green
Builders, developers and other businesspeople in Howard County are increasingly interested in green technology, particularly since the county developed an incentive plan encouraging green building, said John Traunfeld, director of the center.
"We see ourselves fitting into the bigger picture in Howard County," he said. The facility, when completed, could offer local business leaders an educational edge when it comes to being green."
Howard County offers tax credits for buildings that achieve certain higher levels of certification in nationally accepted Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) techniques.
But forward-thinking planners are already looking beyond the LEED requirements, said Traunfeld, who is now helping to identify the best building site on the farm's Ellicott City property.

Important Tool
The facility will be an important educational tool for businesses and the general public, said Brian Magness, director of development for University of Maryland's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
"I think it will be a state-of-the-art tool for our college, for our outreach programs to teach the general public and businesses how to make their own buildings and homes green," he said.
The center will serve as a clearinghouse for information and education, with classes and workshops to be offered that will teach sustainable and organic gardening, as well as other green topics. In addition, tours will demonstrate green building technologies, public school students will learn about green practices and the importance of environmental stewardship, and commercial horticulture conferences will provide training to the green industry.
Magness also cited the research possibilities that will help the University of Maryland become a leader in environmental science and green building research. From a business perspective, he and others believe that this kind of research will help businesses improve their bottom line with new green technologies that conserve natural resources.

Eco-Elements
Stan Sersen, president and founder of ASG, is also founder of the Green Building Institute, a nonprofit with a mission of fostering sustainable building practices through education and example.
Sersen and his ASG team developed the concept for the building, and ultimately would like to become the architect, he said.
"If we don't step in in that capacity, then we would assume we would be kept [on board] in a consulting capacity."
Conceptually, the green building is envisioned as a holistic, integrative design that becomes one with the site. The building would catch sun for heat and would be naturally cooled, which would promote a healthy interior and save on energy costs; the landscaping would complement topography to naturally block winter winds and channel summer breezes over collected rainwater for a cooling effect.
Other features of the facility would include a mini-ecosystem for biological treatment of waste waters, and green roofs and water collection systems to reduce water consumption inside and outside the building, and reduce runoff into the Chesapeake Bay.
The special features would be topped off by a living roof planted with drought- and heat-tolerant plant species to reduce runoff from conventional roof surfaces, reduce heat radiated back into the atmosphere and reduce light pollution.